Blog Bat Around, Mystery RAK, and a Franchise Farewell

Our resident Diamond Jester Matt started a Blog Bat Around last week, giving us all the opportunity to discuss our greatest pack-pulled cards. I was reluctant to list mine because I've sold many of them so long ago that I don't even have a saved scan, but here's my top ten anyhow:

honorable mention - Grant Fuhr 2005-06 The Cup Scripted Swatch patch/auto

In terms of value, this would rank as one of my all-time top-ten pack pulls. However, I'm calling it an 'honorable mention' because it was the best card I pulled from a tin of The Cup, which I was lucky enough to purchase for a mere $450 in 2006. At that price you'd better pull at least one $100 card lol.

10. Carson Palmer 2003 Finest RC Auto #d/399

There was a mini-box of 2003 Finest in my Christmas stocking courtesy of my mom. Autographs were one per box IIRC, and I somehow pulled the #1 overall pick. I sold it for about $150 shortly after.

9. Chris Osgood 1988-99 Upper Deck Game Jersey

This was my first memorabilia hit, way back when jersey cards were tough pulls (1:288 hobby packs per TCDB). Even a semi-star like Osgood sold for well over $100 on an upstart auction site called eBay. It was a nightmare transaction; I sold it to a guy in Nova Scotia who had to send a wire transfer to my girlfriend. I don't have a scan of the card but I think I still have her note, "here's the $140 from that weirdo in NS :P "

8. Eli Manning 2004 Topps Chrome RC Refractor

Bought a bunch of 2004 Topps Chrome at Target in a futile attempt at completing the set. I pulled Larry Fitzgerald and Philip Rivers but gave up when I couldn't land a Big Ben RC. It didn't help the set build that my Manning was a refractor - but I was able to sell it for about $80 well before he won two Super Bowls. (They sell for $200+ these days.)

7. Mario Lemieux 2000-01 Upper Deck Return to Excellence jersey #d/66

Upper Deck made a special set of Lemieux relics where every card was hand-numbered to 66 and inserted into various late-season products. This was my first major superstar swatch pull, and likely my first with a print run under 100. I sold this one in another disastrous eBay transaction that made me want to leave the site forever (I managed to stay away for about a year.)

6. Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Heritage RC photo variation

5. Carlos Correa 2017 Topps Heritage Real One Auto red ink #d 19/68

Now we're getting to more recent pulls, where I actually have scanned evidence. The recent release of 2024 Topps Heritage reminded me of the 5-box break I revealed in the early years of this blog. Judge (which I later submitted to PSA) and Correa basically covered the price of that break.

4. Mike Trout 2011 Bowman Chrome RC

I never pulled a Topps Traded Trout RC despite buying several packs and hangers, yet I got this Bowman Chrome RC from a blaster box purchased during a Dave & Adam's Black Friday sale. This and my all-time greatest pack-pulled hit were submitted to BGS via COMC. I got more money for this card, because I was smart enough to sell it at peak value (unlike the top two...)

3. Marian Gaborik 2005-06 Black Diamond Gemography Onyx Auto 1/1

Once the lockout ended and the much-hyped Crosby/Ovechkin rookie class hit shelves, I gobbled up all the cards I could. Even though I was a poor college student living in a cruddy apartment I managed to buy one hobby box of Black Diamond. The quad diamond SPs (one per box) were more interesting to me, but it was cool to pull an autograph. Only when I sorted the cards by number did I notice the serial numbering on the back. It was my first (and only) one of one pull. I sold it in yet another nightmare eBay transaction.

2. Connor McDavid 2015-16 Upper Deck Young Guns RC

Pulled the big kahuna out of a retail blaster at Target and squealed with glee. I sold it a few months after, for a very good reason: COMC had gem mint copies for rock-bottom prices. An almost free upgrade to a slabbed copy was one of the few smart decisions I made with an all-time top ten pull.

1. Aaron Judge 2013 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Auto #d/50

I've told the story here before but if you're new to the blog, here it is... back in my prospecting days I would buy one Jumbo box of Bowman Draft every Black Friday or Christmas. One of the jumbo packs had some gold shine and when I saw the card I was... nonplussed. Aaron Judge? Okay. It's a Yankee, so that's something. Wow, this kid is huge. Let's see how he did last year.. oh, he was injured. Great.

Once he climbed up the ladder and made it to the Bronx I sent this to COMC for grading, along with a few others:

If I'd sold it after his record-breaking rookie season, or his American League-record 62 home run season, I 'd have had enough cash to buy a car - even after feeBay took their 22%. But I did not sell it at the right time. I sold it when I was making minimum wage and there was a family matter that drained the budget. Another major family issue is gathering steam, but I'm in a better financial position to weather the storm. Which is good, because if I let another 20k card slip though my fingers at less than full value, I'd...

Moving on... it seems that a wave of mystery PWEs has been circulating, with few clues other than "TCDB" and a Hartford postmark. This kind stranger sent six Packers and six Devils over this way (no Whalers though?)

I don't watch Pat McAfee; is A.J. Hawk as bland as everyone says? Or would anyone look like an NPC compared to Patty McCaffeine?

The three best ever Devils are represented here, along with the second-best goalie in Cory Schneider. Mystery person, if you're reading this... thank you!

Last night the Arizona Coyotes closed out their 28th - and final - season in Arizona with a 5-2 win over the Oilers. As someone who lost my hometown hockey team as a teenager, I felt a kinship with the Coyotes. That franchise had somehow survived so many awful decisions from ownership and management -- and just when it seemed like they were on the right track, they couldn't secure an arena. It was Atlanta all over again, and it sucks.

I could write a whole essay on this topic, but I'll spare you my thoughts on the matter except to say that when any franchise has to relocate it's heartbreaking. What that fan base lacked in raw numbers they made up for in resiliency. Who among us would stand by a team through two decades of incompetence, relocation rumors, and scores of insults from snickering, gatekeeping out-of-towners who claim that their favorite team shouldn't exist? Congrats, bullies. You got your wish. The Coyotes are no more.

But! There is an arrangement being discussed to possibly bring them back. If the now-former owner can secure a building within five years, the Coyotes may one day rise from the ashes like... some type of bird.

That said, the players definitely deserve to play for a team with stable ownership and a permanent home. I'd be interested to see how far this young squad can go in the coming years. Good luck in Salt Lake, boys.

Thanks for the memories... even though they weren't so great.

Thanks for reading!




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PWEs from Fuji and Jon

Quick post today because I'm planning a much longer one for Friday and I still haven't returned to regular commenting.

I've been scouring eBay looking for that big piece to add to my collection and so far I've been much too cautious. The prices are higher than I expect (which usually happens with auctions) and the one card I really want hasn't come back down to the price it was before i had the money to buy it. 

I saw a nice Pee Wee Reese 1956 Topps card just before I left work yesterday. I added it to my watch list, but by the time I got home someone bought it. It's just as well. I probably would have delayed a decision on it until it sold - like I've done with the Hank Aaron and Willie Mays cards that were on my watch list. 

You know what would be great? If there was a major sports card and memorabilia convention nearby with both high end and low end cards that I could purchase all at once without paying tax or shipping fees. Sigh...


Thankfully I've been perked up by a pair of PWEs from two of my favourite* bloggers.

 This Kevin Youkilis mini is one of 15 Red Sox cards in the latest care package from Fuji.

This PWE was full of neat inserts and parallels. 

Some Han-Ram here, and a purple refractor of blogger favorite Henry Owens.


Here are some cards I picked from Jon's Free Stuff Friday offerings:

Williams, Chesbro, and Bonds will go into my All-Time Teams binder (I'm rebooting that series when the 2020 baseball season starts -- assuming it starts on time.) I used to have a bunch of those Brett Favre NFL on Fox booklets and it's nice to have it back in my PC.

Thanks for the cards fellas, they were a nice surprise when I definitely needed one.


*Today is Canada Day, ya hosers. Here are some Canada-centic memes that made me chuckle.

Thanks for reading, eh.



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Post 222

It looks like I'll be going to a card show in Connecticut this Sunday. I'll be on the lookout for dime boxes, set fillers, vintage, and some return fire for bloggers:

• Raptors, Senators and 2/14-born players for Douglas
• Prizm shiny and Panini Classics greats for Jon
• Cardinals and Trail Blazers for Kerry 
• and something for Shane, who sent me a nice PWE a short time ago:

I claimed this sharp looking Ken Lehman from Shane because he had a dupe. The rest were all surprise returns for a few buybacks I sent him:

Shane and I are both New Englanders and grew up Whalers fans, so we often end up with each other's dupes. My Whalers collection isn't cataloged yet (and my card room is a mess right now) but I think that these are all needs except the Propp.

The rest of the cards were all Red Sox, another fandom Shane and I share.

I didn't have any of these cards. The Valentin pairs nicely with my Jeff Bagwell card from the same set.

Johnny Damon was one of my favorite "idiots"..but I was naive to get too attached. Like most players, he went where the money was. It's too bad because Boston loved the guy.

A near team set of 2018 Stadium Club. I had all the horizontal cards already but I don't mind dupes of these beauties. With the addition of Bradley and Betts I'm only missing the Rafael Devers RC.

Shane, thanks very much for the great cards! If I see any more buybacks I'll send them along. Failing that, perhaps I'll pick up a Kylian Mbappe or something.


This is my 222nd post (and it just happens to be February 22nd) so here are two cards of retired tough guy Jordin Tootoo:

Have a great weekend everyone!


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A Surprise PWE, a HOFer Auto, and contest news

This might be my last chance to write a 'regular' blog post for a while since I'm determined to finish Sports Card Tour by the end of July. So I'm going to dump a few random thoughts here and hit the ground running with the last 12 SCT posts, starting in the next day or two. 

Douglas (Sports Cards from the Dollar Store) sent me a surprise PWE which arrived Saturday. It was stuffed with 15 Devils cards - including two thick inserts from Upper Deck Synergy:

A pair of Parkhurst cards, including another Jesper Bratt:

And three cards of the newest member of the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Martin Brodeur will be officially enshrined on November 12 (my wife's birthday) along with Martin St. Louis (fine), Willie O'Ree ('bout damn time), Russian star Alexander Yakushev (meh), and Canadian women's star Jayna Hefford.

Oh, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. I have no problem with this - though I do wish there was another NHL player elected (Jeremy Roenick? Daniel Alfredsson?)


Like some of you, I've had to cut back on card buying due to family financial issues. I had a few bucks in my COMC account but most of it went to this 2000 Fleer Greats Fergie Jenkins auto:

It has some corner wear (don't they all?) but I couldn't pass up the sale price of $6.18. However it may have cost me a shot at a Brett Favre insert I've been watching; I'm now 17 cents shy with nothing to sell.

It's been really tough to stay away from my LCS (also known as Target) what with 2018 Stadium Club and Topps Series 2 baseball hitting shelves. That said, I joined my first group break - hosted by Trevor P. (Bump and Run Cards). Stadium Club and Topps2 were included, along with a box of Diamond Kings. 

I picked the Red Sox and was randomly assigned the Brewers as my second team. Not the best team to get for Diamond Kings - there's only one Brewer in the set, and it's not Robin Yount. He isn't in Stadium Club this year, either. Figures. There is this cool Keon Broxton though. 
  

Trevor busted open the Topps2 and DK boxes last week and the Stadium Club boxes yesterday. I'll let you know what I got when I get 'em in hand.

Hopefully I can make one more Target run before my birthday in six weeks, but if not there's a sports card store in Connecticut that I've been itching to visit. I might have to give up on an NES Classic if I want to go.. but those are tough to get your hands on anyhow.

Another thing I might have to sacrifice is the special Capitals Stanley Cup issue of Sports Illustrated. My wife was kind enough to pick up the regular issue-and we both got sticker shock.

$5.99 for this flimsy thing? Sheesh. I knew SI was sinking but that's just sad. I'm really going to miss print journalism. 

I mentioned in my Pittsburgh post that the Penguins special issue was part of a Sports Card Tour prize pack. Here's a complete list of the 24 prizes that will be available:

box of books/magazines
box of baseball cards
box of baseball cards
box of hockey cards (possibly some other sports mixed in)
box of football cards/memorabilia
box of action figures/memorabilia
*I can only ship these within the USA

mystery box of baseball/football memorabilia with about 40 cards
mystery box of baseball/hockey memorabilia with about 40 cards
400-ct box of Boston Red Sox cards
300-ct box of 1996-97 Fleer Basketball cards
four base sets of SP Authentic hockey from 1999-2004
a handful of unopened packs (including 2018 Leaf Football)

Wrigley Field plaque (featuring Hank Aaron) 
New York memorabilia - including an autographed 8 x 10
Panini NHL sticker albums & hockey magazine(s)
2017 Topps Heritage advertising panel (lot of 3)
2007 Topps Heritage felt logo box topper (team will be a surprise)
Washington Nationals t-shirt size XL (like new/worn maybe once)

lot of about 60 oversized cards (1989 Bowman, Topps Big, etc.)
lot of about 50 TCMA cards from 1977 and 1979
your choice of 50-100 cards from your favorite MLB team
your choice of one vintage baseball card from the 1950s (five to choose from)
Sports Card Tour passport - (at least) one card from every "big four" team 
Mark Teixeira Museum Collection bat relic card

Pictures of all these prizes will be posted on draft day. I promised to add 20 cards to each prize but it may not be possible with some of the flat items, or anything that ships in a PWE. I'll try to throw in some surprises whenever possible.

There are 16 players signed up (two bloggers commented once to join in the contest but never came back) If you have signed up but haven't been leaving (m)any comments, I urge you to do so. It will improve your draft position for the prizes listed above. If you have been commenting on my posts but you did not join the contest -- now's the time! I will close this contest at midnight EST on Sunday July 8.

Here are the rules:

• Comment on this post to let me know you wish to participate. (You can just say "Count me in", "I want to play" or something similar) If you do not comment on this post your scores will not count.  
  
• One point will be awarded for any comment on any Sports Card Tour post from now until the end of the contest if they are posted within seven days of the publish date.
• A half-point will automatically be awarded to new players for any comment you've already left on a Sports Card Tour post. (A half-point had been awarded for any comment on any of my posts not related to Sports Card Tour - but this will likely be the last such post until the contest ends.)
• No points will be awarded for blatantly lazy/spam comments. Please try to put a little effort into your comments.
• Ties will be broken by Random.org. Draft order will be announced on or about July 31.

This will be my very last post about Sports Card Tour until draft day. Check the Standings tab at the top of my blog for up-to-date scores (I'll count up the comments as frequently as possible - but scores won't be official until the tour ends.)


Thank you to all those who have read and commented on these posts. And Doug, thanks again for the Devils cards!



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The Island of Misfit Cards

I'm planning to mail a very important package this weekend, and also a PWE -- or two, if there are any takers for these...

Recently I organized my card collection to make room for all the 50/50 trade packages (I'm still waiting on two, but I'll have to assume they're lost) and upon closer examination I found some of my cards were creased or miscut. 

I seem to remember someone on the baseball card blogosphere collects miscut cards but I can't remember who it was. If you're interested in these, leave me a comment and claim them. Here they are, the island of misfit cards:

This Rivera "Rookie" has been in my collection for 15 years or more; it was part of a complete set I bought for $5 at a card show. I can't believe I didn't notice how miscut it is.

 The first ever New Jersey Devils card...

...with stats from the 1981-82 Colorado Rockies. This was part of a team set my brother-in-law bought us as a Christmas gift.

This Cliff Johnson 1979 O-Pee-Chee was part of a Just Commons order, along with these two:

These aren't miscut, but they're way off-center. I probably paid about 15 cents for each.

This isn't miscut either, but Fleer mis-stamped the gold foil.


I won't include the creased cards in this PWE unless you ask for them. Here they are:

Some hockey Hall of Famers. I'm really bummed about that Gretzky mini.

PC cards that needed replacing. There's a '-6' embedded into the Bogaerts. I'm assuming that was meant to be a price, but it could have also been his postseason WAR. 


Again, if you'd like to claim these, leave me a comment and/or e-mail. I'm not looking for anything in return for these - I just want to give these misfits a good home.


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